The following description is provided to assist the understanding of the reader. None of the information provided or references cited is admitted to be prior art.
Tumor heterogeneity refers to the propensity of different tumor cells to exhibit distinct morphological and phenotypical profiles. Such profiles may include cellular morphology, gene expression, metabolism, motility, proliferation, and metastatic potential. Recent advancements show that tumor heterogeneity is a major culprit in treatment failure for cancer. To date, no clinical imaging method exists to reliably characterize inter-tumor and intra-tumor heterogeneity. Accordingly, better techniques for understanding tumor heterogeneity would represent a major advance in the treatment of cancer.